Together Again: Alfa Romeo and F1

2018 will mark the first time in 30 years the Italian automaker will be represented in the Formula 1 Championship.

Alfa has teamed with Sauber F1 team for commercial, technological and strategic cooperation starting with the 2018 season (official name: The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team). Sauber Motorsport AG, competing as Sauber F1 Team, is a Swiss Formula One team. The multi-year agreement also includes “the exchange of engineering and technical know-how,” said a team statement.

Alfa Romeo once owned the F1 field, winning the first nine races in the competition’s history, including two drivers’ world championships in 1950 and 1951. The company participated in Formula 1 from 1950 to 1988 as an engine supplier and constructor. The 2018 Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 entries will wear Alfa Romeo colors and use 2018 Ferrari (Fiat Chrysler owns both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo) power units, per a deal already finalized between Sauber and Ferrari in July, 2017.

“This agreement is a significant step in the reshaping of the Alfa Romeo brand,” said Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne, who’s also FCA’s CEO. “(Alfa Romeo is) a storied marque that has helped make the history of this sport, (and) will join other major automakers that participate in Formula 1. The brand itself will also benefit from the sharing of technology and strategic know-how with a partner of the Sauber F1 Team’s undisputed experience,” he added.

“Alfa Romeo engineers and technicians, who have already demonstrated their capabilities with the newly-launched models, Giulia and Stelvio (Alfa’s premium SUV), will have the opportunity to make that experience available to the Sauber F1 Team,” said Marchionne.

“We are very proud that this internationally renowned company has chosen to work with us for its return to the pinnacle of motorsport,” commented Pascal Picci, Chairman of Sauber Holding AG.